Pages

Friday, November 16, 2012

Walker hands Health Care Exchanges over to the federal government, based on nothing specific and unknown possible future costs.

Republicans continue to use “what if” excuses to appeal to their
panting and gullible conservative voters. Tea party officials like Scott Walker
don’t need real reasons to oppose instituting health care exchanges. Instead, they
just need the possibility that something might not work right or cost too much.

What, fine tune and adjust the program as time goes on? Too
much work.

Gov. Scott Walker told federal officials Friday that
Wisconsin will hand over the creation of an online health insurance marketplace
to the federal government, a decision likely to affect consumers, health plans
and Walker's political career for years to come. Walker argued that Wisconsin
has been able to provide health insurance to more than 90% of state residents
without a health care exchange.

The high percentage of coverage in this state has everything
to do with our expanded Medicaid program, Badgercare Plus, which has been targeted for
cuts under Walker. And yet, the news
media never brings that up.

Walker’s decision was purely ideological, based on “what if”
scenarios that had no connection with reality.

jsonline: Walker also declined to say whether he would back a future
expansion of state and federal Medicaid health programs for the needy as called
for under Obamacare … He declined to state specific areas where the state
needed more control, saying he was not "dissecting it here today,"
and couldn't provide an estimate of the future costs the state might face,
saying he worried because they were unknown.

To be clear; Walker is worried about nothing specific, and about the unknown
“future costs” that might not happen.

But Walker isn't the only standout when it comes to partisan
fear mongering, check out the following comment from a highly conservative
business group, it’s almost laughable:

Bill Smith, the Wisconsin head of the National Federation of
Independent Businesses (said), “the
governor's analysis, which anticipates unknown massive costs for Wisconsin
taxpayers with limited or no control over the system, is a reasonable one that we
respect."

“Unknown massive costs” with “limited or no control” over
the system...what is he talking about? And that makes perfect sense to these people that should know better? Don't get me wrong, it would have been a plus to have Walker run the exchanges like WEDC.